With tears in his eyes, Troy Hill Sr. yesterday recounted the day he was driving his son, Troy Jr., to his job at a McDonald's and the 18-year-old told his father he didn't want to live anymore.

"He expressed to me that he wanted to kill himself," Troy Hill Sr. said yesterday in his first public appearance since the stabbing of his 11-year-old twin sons on Tuesday.

Troy Hill Jr. has been charged with attacking the boys -- the stabbing death of his half-brother Tyron, and the wounding of Tyrel -- in the family's Penn Hills home.

Standing outside Children's Hospital, where Tyrel lies in critical but stable condition, the grieving father said that "we love [Troy Hill Jr.] very much. He was a great kid, great kid, and a great football player.".

But, Troy Hill Sr. said, his son was "having troubles," and once told his father that he heard voices and believed dolls were "speaking to him."

His father reiterated how family members reached out to Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic for help with Troy Jr., but to no avail.

"The system has failed Troy very much," he said.

Troy Hill Sr. and Troy Jr.'s mother called Western Psych the day before the attacks, but a crisis intervention team advised the family only to observe the youth. In fact, the teen's family tried for about a month to get him counseling and perhaps even admitted to Western Psych after his behavior began troubling his relatives.

Troy Hill Sr., who has not yet seen Troy Hill Jr. since his arrest, also yesterday sought to dispel rumors circulated through the media in recent days, he said, of a fractious relationship between his wife, Tiffany Hill, and his son, Troy Hill Jr. Tiffany Hill is Troy Jr.'s stepmother.

"The accusations that have been said through the media about my wife, about her medicating his food are false. She loves Troy very much. Troy has had problems and he has been sick for a while. My wife and I have been living with Troy for 10 years." he said. "She loves him."

Troy Hill Jr. would have started his sophomore year at Waynesburg College this fall, his father said.

"Troy was in conditioning for football. [Tyron and Tyrel] looked up to him," the father said.

He said that his family has received an outpouring of condolences from around the world.

The memory of Tyron endures, he said. "We feel the deep sorrow and the hurt. We miss him very much."

Funeral arrangements for Tyron Hill are being handled by White Memorial Chapel in Point Breeze.

Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m., Tuesday at Deliverance Baptist Church, 812 Swissvale Ave. in Wilkinsburg, where a funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Burial will be in Homewood Cemetery.

An account has been opened for twin brother Tyrel's future educational and medical expenses. Donations can be sent to Tyrel Hill, P.O. Box 2364 Pittsburgh 15230. Checks should be made out to "Tiffany Hill."